Don't Leave
by Slytherin Rose Weasley
Summary: During a battle at the Ministry Ron takes a spell meant for Ginny. He partially falls through the veil that killed Sirius, will he survive? Follow Hermione as these events unfold. Please read and review.
1. Through The Veil

**A/N: So here's the first chapter of my newest project. As usual anything that you recognise belongs to the amazing JK Rowling and not me. I merely play around with her characters for my own amusement. Anyway I hope you like it.**

The lights were flashing all around them, the room lit up from its usual pit of darkness. It had been a long time since Hermione had been down in this part of the Ministry and being here gave her a strange sense of foreboding. The last time she'd been here Sirius had died as they'd been battling the Death Eaters, and now they were here for another battle. She didn't get what the draw was to the Department of Mysteries, but lately every single skirmish between the Order and the Death Eaters had been held here. She hadn't been involved in the pervious fights; the Order had been focusing on training up the younger members and newest recruits by sending them on raiding missions. This was the first time in three years that she had been on the front line. Not that she was supposed to be here.

She'd followed Ginny here, that beautiful headstrong woman who wouldn't take no for an answer. Both of them were fed up with being assigned to raiding missions of which neither of them could see the point, but only Ginny was reckless enough to plunge in without orders. Hermione at least figured there was the possibility that the Order had some greater plans, a bigger picture which junior members weren't privileged enough to know of. Plus if they were on the front line of battle, given who they were then it would only cause greater reinforcements of Death Eaters to fall in on the battle. Being as close as they were to Harry it would never be a good idea for either Ginny or Hermione to do battle face to face with the enemy. They'd only be used as bait to draw Harry in if they were caught.

She used the brief moment of respite after the nearest wizard had fallen to try and catch a glimpse of the redhead. She hadn't seen Ginny since she arrived here, chasing after her friend. She looked around everywhere, hoping she'd see the younger woman battling, refusing to fall to anyone. Before Hermione had chance to take much stock though another wizard was upon her, one whom she recognised instantly. It was hard to miss Pius Thicknesse, the current Minister for Magic.

"Stupefy," Hermione yelled, not sure that she dared to kill the Minister. Yes he might be Voldemort's puppet, his figurehead, but he was still the Minister for Magic. Surely they'd find some way to remove her on some trumped up charge if she killed him. That was the last thing they needed, for Hermione to be detained and no doubt tortured. She watched on in dismay as Thicknesse casually flicked his wand and avoided her spell as if it had been nothing. The grin on his face scared her a little and she wanted nothing more than to run away.

"Come along Miss Granger, I thought you were supposed to be the brightest witch of your age. Surely you can do better than that?" he was taunting her, moving slowly closer. It would only take one spell for him to kill her and Hermione knew that he wouldn't have any qualms about ending her life. It didn't matter if she died at his hand, but it would matter if he died at hers.

She threw spell after spell at him, becoming more infuriated as each one missed. Some he blocked, others just seemed to sail straight past him. She didn't know why but she realised that she wasn't going to manage to curse Thicknesse all on her own. For a moment Hermione lost her footing and stumbled, smacking her knee hard on the marble flooring and for the briefest few seconds she thought that this was the end. Pius Thicknesse was about to kill her. He raised his wand, and shot a curse at someone over Hermione's shoulder.

She flung her head around and watched in horror as the spell sailed towards an undefended Ginny. Just when she thought the younger girl was about to be hit she was shoved out of the way by another person. Ginny fell hard onto the stairs and appeared to knock herself unconscious.

But Hermione's focus wasn't on Ginny anymore. Instead it was on the man who saved her. He was falling backwards through the same veil that Sirius had, only his leg had somehow hooked around the front of it. She would know that person anywhere.

Hermione let out a shrill scream, "RON!"

**A/N: So what did you think? Please leave me a little review, it helps me to grow as a writer. Also if you enjoyed this and want to keep up to date with the projects that I'm working on then please follow my writers account on Twitter SRWfanfiction. Also the second chapter should be up soonish as I've already written it.**


	2. Sacrifices

**A/N: So here's chapter two. Firstly I would like to thank the three of you who gave me feedback on the last chapter, it's actually helped me decide where I want to go with this story. Secondly this chapter is being published sooner than I'd originally planned. But I guess that makes it better for you guys right? As usual I am not JK Rowling and I don't make a penny from this. The italics are flashbacks with normal text being what's passing through Hermione's head at the moment. I hope you like it.**

_She was stood at the edge of a giant chessboard, her friends on either side of her. Time was running out, they needed to cross the board; they needed to stop Snape from getting the stone. But when the three of them tried to walk across the pawns of the white side blocked their path. It dawned on her instantly what they needed to do. They were going to have to play their way across the board. Yes it would take time, but hopefully it had slowed down Snape as well. Why did it have to be wizard's chess though? She might be highly logical, but wizard's chess was not her forte. At least it was something the boys were good at, especially Ron._

_She stepped back as Ron took control, fully trusting him to get all of them past this obstacle. She'd heard rumours of course that Professor McGonagall had a gigantic chess set, but she'd thought that's all it was. Rumours. Apparently she was mistaken. Ron was issuing orders now, having Hermione replace a rook, and Harry replace a bishop whilst Ron took the place of a knight. My knight in shining armour, Hermione couldn't help but think. She just hoped this wasn't like a game of real wizard's chess; wizard's chess was an absolutely barbaric game where the pieces smashed each other into smithereens. Hermione took the opportunity to voice her worries to Ron and he decided to test the theory._

"_Yes Hermione I think it's going to be exactly like wizard's chess," Ron gulped, looking directly at her. Hermione felt her heart sink a little; she didn't want to be here. What if Ron couldn't get them all through this safely? Yes he was a brilliant chess player, but this was going to be a difficult match. She could feel it in her bones. This would take all of Ron's focus to try and win. Hermione didn't want to interfere or distract him._

_Twenty odd minutes later she noticed that they'd come to an impasse. There was no way all three of them would be able to proceed through to the next room. She was just trying to work out if there was another way, something that would allow them to stick together when Ron announced his plan. He was going to sacrifice himself. Hermione wasn't sure if he would survive this. What if those stone chess pieces killed him? There had to be another way! _

_When Ron assured her that there wasn't, she watched on with grim determination as he moved forwards to be taken by the queen. She still looked on in blank horror as the stone piece raised its arm and brought it clashing down over Ron's head. She watched as he fell from the horse, and hit the floor no longer moving. A scream fell from her lips, and it was up to Harry to remind her that she couldn't move from her spot. They were still playing a game after all. And Ron, he had sacrificed himself so that she and Harry might go on. _

Sacrificed himself. Ron had sacrificed himself to save Ginny, to stop his little sister from dying. Why hadn't she done that?

_She was on the floor at Malfoy Manor with Bellatrix Lestrange looming over her. She'd always thought the witch was mad, but it was even clearer to see it now. That said though she'd clearly do anything to protect the interests of her master, Lord Voldemort. Both Harry and Ron had been taken prisoner, they'd been dragged down to the dungeons by Malfoy and Hermione could only hope that her Stinging Hex had disfigured Harry's features enough to keep him safe for the time being. The moment they figured out that it was Harry with her, there was no doubt the Dark Lord would be summoned. _

_Hermione was wrenched upwards by her hair; clearly Bellatrix didn't mind causing her victims pain, even when she was questioning them intently. Everything would have much better if she hadn't have spotted the Sword of Gryffindor. Hermione knew from Bellatrix's reaction that she thought it was somehow linked to her vault at Gringotts. She could see not only the fear in the older woman's eyes, but also rage and bloodlust. Those eyes made her shiver, they were cold and calculating, not a single shred of warmth to be found there. Then again should she really have expected to see warmth in the eyes of a Death Eater? _

"_Where did you get the sword?" Bellatrix asked her once again, twirling a sharp silver knife in her hand. _

"_W-we just found it. I promise!" Hermione cried out, mainly from fear. It wasn't like Bellatrix would simply believe that they had found it in a pool of water in the middle of a forest. Not if she was continuously asking about her vault at Gringotts. _

"_I'll ask you again, where did you get the sword?" Bellatrix's voice was silky smooth and Hermione could hear the threat underneath her words. She shivered slightly as Bellatrix traced across her throat and down her arms with the blade of the knife. That scared her, but not so much as when Bellatrix started carving into her arm. She shrieked in agony, the pain was excruciating. Hermione guessed that Bellatrix had probably cursed the blade at some point. _

"_We found it I swear we did. It's just a fake. It's not real! Please," Hermione begged freely, tears streaming down her face. She hoped Bellatrix believed her, but she knew the chances of that were very slim. What good reason was there for three teenagers to be running around the countryside with a copy of the Sword of Gryffindor? _

_Hermione continued to plead in this manner until the pain overcame her and she passed out. _

Everything she did, she had done to save Ron. Only now she couldn't save him.

**A/N: So what did you think? Please leave me a review, they really help me to grow as a writer.**

**DoctorWho'sInn: I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.**

**rhmac12: Yes I agree it's rather sick, but it's something that I could see happening. With Hermione being who she is I think they'd use any excuse possible to capture her and try to get information on the Order or Harry.**

**randver: Ooooh that's certainly an idea. I've decided what I want to do with this story at least, and depending on it's success there may be a sequel of sorts.**

**Like I said I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm not sure when the next installment will be up as I have a few other projects that I'm working on, but hopefully it won't be too long.**


	3. Freefall

**A/N: So it's been a while. I know I'm an awful person. But I actually have an excuse for once, we've suffered a family bereavement and I need to be there for my family at the moment, and this felt a little too close to home. Anyway as usual I am not JK Rowling and nor do I make a penny from this. I hope you like it.**

Hermione couldn't process what was happening around her. Her world was going fuzzy. Sounds seemed to be coming to her from the end of a long tunnel, and the world had become pixelated. She was vaguely aware that she was screaming, every part of her body was being torn in a different direction. She wanted nothing more than to be with Ron, to pull him back, but she was being pulled away herself. Someone's arms were wrapped tightly around Hermione, pulling her backwards, keeping a hold on her. She struggled relentlessly against them but it was no use. They were too strong.

She watched on helpless as battle raged on around her. Hermione saw Order members and Death Eaters battling one another on the steps, spells flying in all directions, and she saw casualties falling. She'd lost count of who was fighting on which side, and she was barely dodging the curses that came flying her way. She still struggled against her captor, trying to pull away but it was no use. Hermione was dragged backwards and her mouth was still open in a never ending scream.

She saw people running towards the veil, noticing Ron's foot coiled around the stone. She watched as the Order tried to battle their way forwards, watched as Lucius Malfoy shot a curse a Luna, causing the blonde haired girl to crumple and fall. She saw Neville break from the ranks, cradling his girlfriend in his arms. He was calling her name over and over again, but she didn't stir. Hermione twisted, and bit the arm of the person holding her. She noticed Remus recoil away, his face contorted in pain, and Hermione felt slightly bad for her former teacher and friend, but she needed to help her best friends right now.

Hermione ducked under a jet of red light, sprinting up the stairs to where Ron was. She grabbed his foot, not caring about the consequences. Vague memories of Sirius falling through the veil started assaulting her mind, the images floating in front of her eyes. She'd seen his body twist and fall, stumbling backwards from the impact of the Killing Curse that Bellatrix Lestrange had fired at him. She knew he was already dead at that point, but they'd still tried to save him. But the moment he'd touched that veil, it was like a magnet. He rose backwards, and had been pulled through it. They hadn't dared investigate it further; Remus had said that it was far too dangerous. They didn't know a thing about the veil, it could potentially kill them.

Hermione tugged Ron's body back to her, noticing that he was a dead weight. That didn't bode well. His skin was pasty and cold to the touch. She started searching frantically for a pulse, her fingers pressing against Ron's neck and wrists. He couldn't be dead, he just couldn't be. She'd barely been there a minute before other Order members were crowding around her, pulling her away. Tears streamed down Hermione's cheeks, her eyes bloodshot and swollen. She eventually allowed herself to be pulled away by Arthur Weasley, allowing others to try and treat him.

She saw Bill's grim face, growing pale. "We need to get him to St Mungo's as soon as possible."

**A/N: So what did you think? Please leave me a little review; they help me to grow as a writer and I love hearing your feedback.**

**randver: I wanted to show that Ron can actually be a nice guy when he puts his mind to it. He's very loyal, he just needs a little nudge in the right direction every now and again. **

**PhoenixTailAndHolly: I know I know, this is a very short chapter. Please forgive me. I just really struggled with writing it because of everything going on at home, but I will try to make future chapters longer. **

**I'm not sure when this will next be updated because of everything that I've got going on at the moment, but I will be back.**


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